It’s still pitch black when our alarms go off – 4.15am to be exact. Despite the early morning start, it’s easy to offset my drowsy, zombie-like mind with the sheer excitement of what’s on the agenda for today. While our time in New South Wales’ premier wine region, Hunter Valley, had so far consisted of eating and drinking our way around the picturesque rural countryside, I was saving my sober state of mind for our much-anticipated sunrise hot air balloon ride. While my first knowledge on the existence of hot air balloons came from the cover of my grandmother’s edition…